Beauty and the Book

Title: Lost Girls: An Unsolved American Mystery
Author: Robert Kolker
Read: September 30, 2014

Summary: Award-winning investigative reporter Robert Kolker delivers a humanizing account of the true-life search for a serial killer still at large on Long Island and presents the first detailed look at the shadow world of online escorts, where making a living is easier than ever, and the dangers remain all too real. A triumph of reporting, a riveting narrative, and "a lashing critique of how society and the police let five young women down" (Dwight Garner, The New York Times), Lost Girls is a portrait of unsolved murders in an idyllic part of America, of the underside of the Internet, and of the secrets we keep without admitting to ourselves that we keep them. goodreads

Review: I have to admit, I had no idea these cases were going on over the last few years. I kept wondering if these stories were related to "the cragislist killer" who I had heard of, but they weren't. They were completely unrelated and I'm a little ashamed to say I hadn't heard of them. I guess I've been living under a rock...

I have really gotten into true crime books over the last few years and this was a great book to continue my fascination. I think the hardest part of this book is that there is no resolution. Some people saw this as a negative aspect of the book but if you go into this book with any other expectations, you obviously didn't read the title. It states that it is unsolved!!!

I really liked the way the author focused on the victims as individuals initially and told their unique stories one by one. I think this allowed readers to look at the girls as something other than prostitutes and understand a little of where they were coming from when they had to make the tough decisions that led them into that world. In later parts of the book, I became easily confused on which girl was which and who's family member was who, but I think that's my fault and not the author's.

A large aspect of this book that I enjoyed is that the author addressed all of the conspiracies as well as pointed out all of the unknowns and loose ends which kind of allows the reader to come to their own conclusions. It's obvious something very fishy went on in that neighborhood but it is hard to determine exactly what. I also think it's interesting that the disappearance of Shannan started this entire investigation and the police believe that she may not even be connected to the possible serial killer. This leads us to believe that there may be at least two murders involved in the deaths of these girls in this weird, small community. I think the unknown is what makes this story all the more interesting. As far as true crime books go, this one was very enjoyable, well written, and a little eerie. but overall, well done .